Temper tantrums

Try counting to 10. First go foward with even...2,4,6 etc. and then count backwards...9,7,5 until you get to one. Usually, a person has to focus to do this and by the time it's completed anger seems redirected. (haha) I don't know if this really works. What works for me is "God give me the strength to deal with this situation in the best way possible."

2 year olds are pretty much impossible to reason with...you might have noticed .

Discipline in public places....well, I have 2 girls (ages 2 and 4) and we do time outs at home for misbehavior, a spanking for rudeness and backtalk. When we're out in public, if they are misbehaving, I have no problem at all sitting them down right in the middle of the aisle in the grocery store and enforcing a time out, if neccessary. This embarrasses my husband to no end, but it's embarrassing to me to have kids who disobey me when I tell them something. Yes, people will look at you a little funny, but you have to show your kids that the rules don't change just because you're in a public place. For my 4 year old (who loves to walk, not ride in the shopping cart), I can usually just put her in the cart for a time out. Also, they are usually allowed 1 treat each...sometimes candy, sometimes fruit, a favorite box of cereal, a ride on the toy horse outside the store, they get to pick (we only grocery shop about twice a month so it's no big deal). If the misbehavior continues, they don't get a treat. That's a big deal even to my 2 year old...usually enough to get them to act right.

I've searched and searched for alternatives to spanking them and I've found a few that really seem to work. I designate a particular time out spot for each of them...when they get put in 'that' corner, they know they've done something wrong. Also, they like to watch videos...if they misbehave, the movie goes off. Don't get me wrong, spanking is sometimes neccessary, but you must be careful that you don't spank them just because you've lost your patience with them. I feel myself getting to that point sometimes and that's when I pray for patience and find a different way to handle it.

I just said a prayer for you, Water...being a loving mommy (or a daddy) is definitely the toughest job in the world.

Love, Heather

Thanx for your kindness. =)

People, the whole ideal behind me throwing a tantrum was to show my child how she looked! She thought mommy looked funny and I told her that's how she looked when she behaved that way. Remember, I did this at home.

__________________

Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona

George F. Will: Men at Work

Baseball rules, God Reigns

Spoiler for click here!:

Ha! Ha! Made you look!

I understand your frustration with people insinuating that what you did was wrong and you don't have to justify how you choose to raise your child. I say - Do what works for your child. If that got the point across - great. Then your better off than others who are still struggling with the tantrums. I have an 18 month old and trust me - I may resort to YOUR technique if mine don't work!

Anyway, just didn't want you think you're the only one - btw, my mother has actually done the same thing to me in similiar situations..........and I was much older! lol..........

LOL, My mom used to tape record us screaming throwing tantrums...then she'd play it back to us. Man, that used to make me mad. I think it made me think better of throwing a tantrum next time, though, because I hated being embarrassed like that. Don't let anyone knock your technique...never underestimate a child's pride.

Love, Heather

Just out of curiosity, why have you looked for alternatives? Do you find that you spank for the wrong reasons? As you seem to understand, spanking is a biblically based method of dealing with willfully rebellious behavior so why would you feel the need to find an alternative to a biblically based method?

Thanks,
God bless

__________________
"Apart from an acknowledgment of God's absolute, all encompassing sovereignty, there can be no true thanksgiving, praise, or childlike dependence upon Him. What a gracious thing that He has opened our eyes to behold with wonder His works. As John the Baptist said, a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. How gracious He has been to us!" - One of my beloved brothers in the Lord Jesus

Sorry but I don't think doing something your child thinks is funny is an appropriate way to deal with inappropriate behavior. I'm glad that it worked out for you but it's not a duplicatable method of dealing with a child's rebelliousness. What if she curses at a teacher? Are you going to curse at her?

Anyway, I'm not trying to tell you how to raise your child. I just think you're setting yourself up for trouble. At some point your child is going to acknowledge that if you do it it's okay.

God bless

__________________
"Apart from an acknowledgment of God's absolute, all encompassing sovereignty, there can be no true thanksgiving, praise, or childlike dependence upon Him. What a gracious thing that He has opened our eyes to behold with wonder His works. As John the Baptist said, a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. How gracious He has been to us!" - One of my beloved brothers in the Lord Jesus

That adult temper tantrum is a good idea. For my oldest daughter, 9, I told her I'd act [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] at her teacher conferences if she doesn't stop sassing. She's quite agreeable now.

I bet she loved that one! That is too hiliarious!